Description
Book SynopsisDestruction of Cultural Heritage in 19th Century France examines the fate of the building stock and prominent ruins of France (especially Roman survivals) in the 19th century, supported by contemporary documentation and archives, largely provided through the publications of scholarly societies. The book describes the enormous extent of the destruction of monuments, providing an antidote to the triumphalism and concomitant amnesia which in modern scholarship routinely present the 19th century as one of concern for the past. It charts the modernising impulse over several centuries, detailing the archaeological discoveries made (and usually destroyed) as walls were pulled down and town interiors re-planned, plus the brutal impact on landscape and antiquities as railways were laid out. Heritage was largely scorned, and identity found in modernity, not the past.
Table of ContentsContents Preface Map of France Introduction: Heritage and Identity in 19th Century France 1 The Early Architecture of France Spolia and the Persistence of Re-use Prehistoric Antiquities Roman Sites in France Rome in Imperial Decline After Antiquity Conclusion: Preventable Destruction 2 The Defence of France The Enceintes of Late Antiquity Old Fortifications Cannot Satisfy New Requirements New Requirements: Barracks Le genie de la destruction: The French Military and the Defence of France Servitude et grandeur militaires – and boulevards The Genie in North Africa Conclusion: The Fate of Town Walls and Monuments 3 Technology and Change: Improved Communications Railways Map-making Military and Civil Roads, Canals and Bridges Photography Tourism Conclusion 4 Vandalism, Ignorance, Scholarship, Museums Heritage and Destruction Vandalism Preservation, Conservation, Restoration: The Dilemma Destruction, Resurrection and Vandalism Ignorance: Workmen, Administrators, Proprietors Administration and Destruction The Persistence of Vandalism Money, Speculators, Scholars Conclusion 5 The Organisation of Scholarship and Museums Archaeology and Archaeologists Cataloguing the Past: Censuses of Antiquities Conclusion 6 Modernity and its Architectural Consequences Modernity Communications and Industry Modernisation and Destruction Bordeaux and Paris: Leaders of the Pack Conclusion 7 The Île de France and Champagne Beauvais, Evreux, Reims, Laon, Sens, Soissons Conclusion 8 Normandy, the North, Burgundy and Points East Normandy and The Loire The North The East Burgundy (plus Points East and the Upper Rhone Valley) Conclusion 9 Centre and West Bourges, Auxerre, Orleans, Limoges, Clermont Ferrand, Perigueux, Poitiers, Saintes, Toulouse Conclusion 10 Centuries of Destruction: Narbonne and Nîmes Narbonne Nimes Conclusion 11 Provence and the South: Monumental Losses Arles Aix-en-Provence, Avignon, Dax, St-Lizier, Beziers, Perpignan, Frejus – Cannes – Antibes – Villefranche, Orange, Vaison-la-Romaine Conclusion Conclusion: Heritage? What Heritage? The Transformation of Townscape and Landscape Appendix Bibliography: Sources Bibliography: Modern Scholars Index Illustrations
